Lieberman’s invitation from Jewish National Fund splits U.K. Jews
Israel’s Foreign Minister slammed by Zionist-leftist youth movement for ‘involvement in activities which jeopardize’ peace; Lieberman’s office: ‘No need to respond to marginal elements of the delusional left.’
BY Anshel Pfeffer, HAARETZ
LONDON – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s visit to London this week is causing a furor within the local Jewish community. While one of the main pro-Israel organizations in Britain, the local branch of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), will be hosting an open event for community members with Lieberman today, a number of Jewish groups have come out against his invitation.
The protest was launched by members of the Zionist-leftist youth movement Habonim Dror, who published an online petition questioning the JNF’s “involvement in activities which jeopardize the possibility of peace and Israel’s ability to maintain a strong democracy,” specifically evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem and the demolition of buildings at the unrecognized Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev.
In addition to these questions part of an ongoing campaign by Jewish leftist organizations against some of the activities funded by the venerable Zionist organization the petitioners also criticized the invitation of Lieberman, a “leader of a far-right party, who alongside instigating anti-democratic legislation in the Knesset has also advocated for the transfer of many of Israel’s Arab citizens to the West Bank.”
Some 300 people have already signed the petition online and a number of high-profile Jewish leaders have also joined the protest, including Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, co-chair of the Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism, who said in a statement that while his movement supports
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“the presence of Israeli politicians in the UK, educating the Jewish community and raising awareness among the wider British public to Israel’s achievements, concerns and needs, we cannot support the invitation given to Avigdor Lieberman by the JNF. The presence of someone who expresses fundamentalist right-wing views, in particular relating to Israeli Arabs who make up 20 percent of Israel’s population, will damage Israel advocacy in the UK and further disillusion those who once held the JNF in high esteem. Avigdor Lieberman does not represent the views of the majority of Israelis, nor that of most British Jews. If it is the strategy of JNF to align themselves with his opinions … then it is difficult to provide the advocacy that Israel sorely needs in the Diaspora.”
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner of the Movement for Reform Judaism said that she was “surprised and dismayed to see that Lieberman has been invited to address the Jewish community in London. Israel advocacy is most effective when its case is made rationally and compassionately.”
She said that for the JNF “to invite someone with fundamentalist right-wing views from outside the consensus of mainstream Israeli society suggests it is concerned with something other than effective advocacy.”
Samuel Hayek, chairman of JNF UK, responded angrily, describing the petition by Habonim Dror members as “libelous comments.” According to Hayek, “JNF UK is not involved in any of the disputes with sections of Israel’s Bedouin citizens.”
He asked whether “those who have signed this petition have spoken to the Bedouin farmers whose livelihoods are under threat from the squatters at Al-Araqib. Or have they spoken to the Bedouin inhabitants of Arad, who benefit from the JNF UK-funded medical center? Habonim Dror and [pro-Israel peace group] Yachad seem to be more than happy to side blindly with the squatters and repeat the lies propagated by those who work to delegitimize Israel. It’s a pity for these organizations that truth and fashionable causes appear to be mutually exclusive.”
Regarding Lieberman’s invitation, Hayek said that “Avigdor Lieberman is a democratically-elected politician and the foreign minister of Israel. We are proud to have him speak exclusively at a JNF UK event, following his meeting with Foreign Secretary William Hague. Our event offers a fascinating opportunity for people to listen and debate the issues that concern our community.”
Lieberman’s office said in response: “There is no need to respond to marginal elements of the delusional left whose only purpose is to defame the state of Israel.”
@ babara:
You got a problem with calling a spade a “spade”?
There’s far more damage done to that “unity & strength” by the actual PHENOMENA of Jewish self-hatred & useful (Jewish) idiocy
— than by the mere calling of it what it is.
Of course they did — the Left told us so.
Increasing the debt by $5 Trillion — within a period of less than 3 yrs — is hardly what I’d call ‘putting back the pieces.’
“Stuck”?
He’s not stuck.
WE’RE stuck — with him
— or have been, thus far.
@ babara:
You would not mind Barbara coughing up the source of your “percentages”, would you?
Tell us how 27 mandates out of 120 represent “grgrob ha’am”. The Peresites instituted the “grgrob ha’am” claim and had not choice but to bribe criminals to pass “Oslo” as well.
Labor zionists committed major crimes against the Jewish people as in abandoning Temple Mount, destroying whole Jewish towns, performing Pogroms against Jews, etc. Is it because that is of your liking that you also support Mr. Soetoro?, Obama, Dunham?
TIME to have true FREE ELECTIONS of Judges, representatives and to sweep the “combina” out of existence.
@ babara:
Oppah! There goes again the “grgrgrobb ha’am” thing! Peres initiated that never confirmed at the polls pile of bovine dudu. He never individually won an election but misses no opportunity to eruct that his views represent the wishes of “grgrgrob ha’am”. “Oslo” had to be passed at the Knesset by bribing two creeps, one of which is apparently still in jail for drug offenses. The only net result from the people allowing the spread of false data by the 2 for 2 BS advocates is the burying of THOUSANDS of “victims of peace”, loss/abandoning of Heritage. Heritage that was never at risk until the labor zionists started giving it away as in the the case of Dayan treason act of disposing of the Temple Mount. We will not mention the “painful sacrifices” by the Sharon crowd either… That vegetable also received a sound defeat at the LIKUD referendum but… “disengaged” thousands of loyal Jews Pogrom style nevertheless.
The people does not any longer swallow the claims by the pseudo majority.
Barbara, could you kindly provide the source of your generous attribution of percentages? I would not be surprised if the “source” is the rape us Condi folk at “ha’aretz” or some other such pollster. Or is it the view of the “60 minutes” worth of “tzfonis”?
May I remind you also that the last time we checked don Netanyahu DID NOT represent “grgrgrob ha’am” either? 27 out of 120 does not actually mean “grgrgrob” Barbara.
Lets STOP and disband the “combina” and HAVE TRUE and FREE elections of Judges and peoples representatives. NO MORE pre cooked lists of “elites” hacks! NO MORE israelitist “polls”! NO MORE secret cabals to select them judges!
babara Said:
you’re kidding!
hussein putting back the u.s. economy….
wow!
you’ve been hangin’ with these guys for too long.
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cheechandchong.com/wp-content/gallery/new-sample-gallery/cheech-and-chong1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cheechandchong.com/&h=1960&w=2725&sz=441&tbnid=4rlI9mkMUNeSlM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=125&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcheech%2Band%2Bchong%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=cheech+and+chong&usg=__h3GJAvlNto2tGWilq4nDWm_jHrk=&docid=C2zriDsslvBMOM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WZO9T_SCGIWu6gG8h801&sqi=2&ved=0CG0Q9QEwAg&dur=2266
@ Felix Quigley:
GET RID OF OBUMMMA
@ Laura:
Who sez so. Bibi is a zionist and is in favor of a two state solution. So is 70 percent of the Israeli populace according to a recent poll.
I did not know that YOU are in a position to define who is a Zionist and how a Zionist is supposed to feel. You speak for yourself and no one else.
@ Bill Narvey:
Au contraire, my dear willy- it is the right that has been using such terms as “self hating Jews” and “useful idiot”,and as a result has damaged Israel’s unity and strength.And the irony is that the most destructive and incompetent U.S administration was headed up by such luminairies, as G.W. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld all of whom were of the Right and turned out to be completely WRONG. And Obama has been stuck with putting back the pieces of a previous powerful U.S. economy
If truth be told, it matters little if you are on the Right or Left , it is the quality of the leadership that counts.
I also been searching for something made in England that I could boycott and again the British disappointed. Not a thing. I believe that some jet engines used on commercial aircraft, produced by others, are assembled in GB, otherwise… zilch.
Not even a significant Olim base to nag a bit… 🙂 Ebban and Weitzman were probably the best out of there once upon a time.
About a month ago we hosted a Lady hailing from Great Britain. She is one of my wife’s aunts by marriage. She married again to a Scottish Lord. Lady Patricia remains active in the Jewish Community. And she gave us insights about that community that otherwise would have never been known to us. Drifting is the best one can say surmising the subject. A very light dusting of surface commitment for appearances sake only. In short, the UK Jewish community has made great strides to become as much irrelevant as their Gentile co travelers are.
With one temporary difference with the US community.
The US Jews have passed over in their majority into the realm of unJewishness. In fact many are outright inimical to the State and Jews in Eretz Israel.
The British are divided and not there. For now…
If the information circulating is correct, in two weeks we in Eretz Israel will again find the true position of the embedded “patriots”. Not that we can hope for any reason to rejoice, not that. We will be able to observe the future, now…
@ yamit82:
Well they haved veered far from the organization’s original intent. You can either be a Zionist or be opposed to “settlements” and support a two-state solution. But one cannot be both.
Felix, though I would like to travel and summer in the Hague sounds nice, what the hell are you talking about that the Hague is where I will wind up?
Ted
Surely you meant not the left but the “FASCIST LEFT” in relation to this dreadful Kibbutz group who gave Yamit his loan!!!!
Bill
Ah Bill like you gave the right of free speech to the Serbs, the only right you gave was for the Serbs to speak to the Judge in the Hague Kangaroo Court, where you too by the way will end up
@ Ngel Shawi:
NGEL SHAWI IS NO MORE.
@ Lonny Moses – Mazkirut Habonim Dror:
How the mighty have fallen!
me as well yamit82 Said:
Ted, Pls release my short comment to Laura.
@ Laura:
It’s a legit Zionist organization. Afiliated with the Kibbutz movement. My ex wifes parents were members of Dror even when they lived in Poland.
When I left Kibbutz I got a loan from Dror to get started outside of the Kibbutz. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habonim_Dror
Habonim Dror is a 75 year old Labor-Zionist youth movement which has founded over 10 kibbutzim. Habonim Dror North America supplied 1 out of every 10 people making Aliyah in 1948, was crucial in launching the federation Shlichut campaign in the 1970’s, and continues to send young people on Aliyah regularly. We count amongst our graduates Stanley Fisher and Golda Meir. Laura would do best to learn a little more about the history of Zionism before making unfounded accusations about a pillar of the Zionist Project.
Habonim Dror is obviously another fake, phony organization along the lines of JStreet which pretend they are pro-Israel while actively working to undermine the Jewish state. They are anything but Zionist despite what they claim.
Please release my above comment.
Is it any surprise that the UK Jewish left wing is led by the likes of a Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, co-chair of the Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism and a Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner of the Movement for Reform Judaism?
Like it isn’t happening in North America where the Jewish left wing do their utmost to damn those to the right of them on issues relating to Israel’s needs and best interests as being demonic right wingers and then take action to shut them up.
When it comes to the Jewish left wing they are always nattering about their right of freedom of speech and acting to deny that same right to those who disagree with them.
Those Jews who the left wing Jews target for umbrage and rejection would be doing themselves a huge favor if they moved to become as organized, passionate, vocal and active as the Jewish left wing that they complain and moan about?
The issue to me is that many of UK’s Jews still believe that the UK is a pillar amongst enlightened nations.
Financially it is a disaster and will have a great fall.
The only thing the UK has given the world is bizarre Rock and Roll music apart from the great stuff from the Beatles and Brian Jones.
The UK is a major link in the propaganda pro muslim machine and a very weak link in the supposed “war” against terrorism.
I spent 3 days in London in 1990. No interest to re-visit. Never.
If I knew what the UK actually produces I would boycott it!